1 Year Promise
by Blackfang64
Summary: 1 year… that’s how long I’ve waited, that’s how long until I can see your beautiful face. My heart aches without having you with me, how long must you make me suffer the loneliness' ShizNat birthday fic, Happy Birthday Shizuru!


**Author: This is dedicated to everyone's favorite Kyoto girl, Happy Birthday Shizuru! Hope you enjoy the fic!**

**1 year promise **

_I count the days that past, I watch the seconds fly by.__ The thought of being with you warms my heart; the time we have spent apart has left my heart so alone. _

Her red saffron eyes stared out into distance at the sun setting over the green hills. The stray of silk honey brown hair swayed over her eyes, before being pushed aside.

_Every night I awake hoping to find you next to me, only to find there's no one to hold on too. _

A tear streamed down her eyes, glistening in the sunlight before falling from her cheeks to her hand.

_1 year… that's how long I've waited, that's how long until I can see your beautiful face. My heart aches __without having you with me, how long must you make me suffer the loneliness? How long until we can be together again?_

"Shizuru darling, you should come in its getting pretty cold" shifting her attention from the sunset to the voice, she looked over at the woman with similar qualities of her own.

"Yes mother" she nodded, giving her mother a warm smile.

_Cold, is it really? I guess I failed to notice it, I suppose I had grown use to it being around her to much. I suppose it was the cold atmosphere around her that I had grown to use too. _

"You were thinking about her again weren't you?" the sudden gasp answered her mother's question.

"I just… miss her so much…." Her tone softened, her mother walked up to her daughter wrapping her arms.

"She means a lot to you, I know she'll come back" her mother whispered softly into her daughter's ear. Closing her eyes, Shizuru felt her being beginning to fall apart.

_A year ago, she left me promising that she would return… _

_**1 yr ago… **_

"Natsuki, what's wrong?" staring down at the naked woman beneath her, she caught sight of a glint of sadness in the younger girl's jade eyes. The look in the girl's eyes was apologetic as she tried to shift her attention away from the girl.

"I-it's nothing…" Natsuki shook her head although Shizuru wasn't totally convinced. Sliding to the side, Shizuru laid gently next to her partner.

"What's the matter Natsuki, is something troubling you?" turning onto her other side facing her partner, she stared deeply into the other woman's eyes seeking an answer.

"It's just that… I don't know" Natsuki turned away. "I just don't know… if I can love you is all" the gasp from behind alerted the girl's sense. "I mean… I'm still just getting use to this you know and… well…" Natsuki turned back trying to reassure the Kyoto born.

"Is Natsuki trying to say… she doesn't love me?" Shizuru could feel her heart beginning to tear in two.

"I'm not sure…" sitting herself up, Natsuki turned her head back at her partner lying there lost in her sadness. "I… just need some time to think is all…"

"Is Natsuki leaving me?" sitting herself up against the bed post, she watched Natsuki dress herself waiting for a response.

"I just need some time to think this over please understand Shizuru" her emerald eyes stared across the room with a look seeking for forgiveness.

"Natsuki, how could you?" Shizuru could feel her tear ducts readying to explode.

"Shizuru, please just listen to me" pleadingly Natsuki sat beside the older girl grasping her hand within her own. "Right now… I just need to be alone. I need time to think what I'm going to do with my life"

Shizuru by now was having trouble trying to hold back her tears and emotions from exploding. "If Natsuki wishes that… then I won't stop her" dipping her head low, Shizuru closed her eyes not wanting to look Natsuki in the eye.

"Shizuru… if you love me… with all your heart, then I know you can wait" leaning over she wrapped her arms gently around the girl resting her head over the girl's shoulder. "Wait for me Shizuru… when I return I'll know what I want in life. I promise"

_That was the last I saw of Natsuki. She left the next day, before I could say goodbye. I felt like being stabbed in the back at the time, but… I trust Natsuki and her judgment. If she says she'll return, then I'll wait for her__. I trust her with my heart, I just pray it's enough… _

_**Present…. **_

The lightning roared heavily over the night sky, flashing a bright light before descending back into the darkness. The rain poured down, drenching the ground in water. A motorbike drove up the driveway parking outside the house. Dismounting off the bike, the driver approached the front trotting through the puddles. Walking up the steps, they stopped at the door before reaching over to the doorbell pressing the button. Hearing a ringing sound, the biker reached up to his helmet removing it away. The door opened revealing a tall brunette woman wearing a dressing gown looking half asleep. "Yes?"

_Shizu- oh wait it's her mother. They look very similar, except her mother is a lot older but still a nice catch. Okay creepy, just stick with Shizuru._

Shizuru's mother gasped at the sight of the biker. "Is Shizuru home?" the biker stepped into the light revealing her long azure blue hair that sunk past her shoulders and her emerald eyes.

"N-Natsuki?! O-of course, come in" Shizuru's mother stepped aside allowing the blunette to enter. Her foot steps echoed through the darkened room along the tiles. "She's upstairs in her room asleep, I'll go make some tea" she bowed her head before wondering off. Natsuki carefully eyed the stairs as each one she climbed another was soon to follow.

_Each step is bringing me closer to you, I just pray what lies at the top is still the same girl I knew. _

Finally standing at the top, she wondered down the empty hall. The darkness did not hinder Natsuki's determination, although she bumped into a few tables along the way.

_So w__here's her room? If I remember…. Here we go! _

Pausing at the door, she curled her fist up readying to tap the door. Just as her fist was about to knock she noticed the door was slightly open. Slowly pushing the door opened, she peaked into the room. Tip toeing quietly, she entered the room looking around for Shizuru's bed.

_Dam it's too dark, I can't see a thing. _

Wondering aimlessly for awhile she heard the floor creak. Before she had time to react she was hit over the head hard before collapsing to the ground. She felt her eyes slowly closing as the last things that were in her mind was the room becoming brighter and her name being called out.

_**Later… **_

Shizuru sat still, her eyes staring over at the sleeping blunette on the couch. Turning back over to the fireplace, she held her breath before sighing. "I'm sorry Natsuki…" she whispered.

_**Flashback **_

Shizuru was awoken by the sound coming from outside her room. Rubbing her eyes, she pushed the blanket away from her grabbing hold of her night gown and dressed it around herself. Walking towards her door, she rested her hand on the door knob slowly turning it without making a sound. Her crimson eyes peaked through the small gap she opened the door up too.

_Who's that? It must be a thief or a drunk!_

She watched the dark figure stumble across the hall; slowly he got closer and closer to her room.

_Well I'm not going down without a fight! _

Backing away from the door, she hurried to her wardrobe looking for something useful. Unfortunately since it was still dark, she reached in grabbing hold of what was her guess was a book. She stood beside the door waiting for the figure to walk into her room. The door slowly opened, Shizuru watched the figure walk into her room looking around for something. Raising the book above her head, she slowly approached the figure. She paused when the floor creaked before charging at the figure and slamming the book into its head. The loud thud soon to follow gave a relief to Shizuru as she reached for the light switch. Although what she saw next, made her regret her move.

_Natsuki!_

There on the ground laid Natsuki, she dropped the book to her side before running to the injured girl. "Natsuki!" she screamed, falling to the girl's side. "Natsuki, Natsuki wake up! Natsuki please wake up!"

_**Now… **_

"I'm sorry Natsuki, because of my decisions you got hurt as a result" Shizuru said out loud before dipping her head against the linear chair.

"It's okay…" called out a voice. Shooting her head up from her seat, she saw the blunette sitting up with a groggy smile on her face.

"Natsuki!!" Shizuru screamed jumping from her chair onto the blunette. Natsuki's eyes widened as the brunette crashed on top of her burying the girl in her chest. "Natsuki, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry"

"Help, can't breathe!" Natsuki screamed out being muffled by Shizuru's chest. Shizuru backed of Natsuki allowing the younger girl to breath. Sitting beside the girl, Shizuru smiled warmly before wrapping her arms firmly around Natsuki's waist.

"I missed you so much Natsuki" Shizuru whispered softly before feeling a pair of arms slowly snaking themselves around her.

"I missed you too Shizuru" Natsuki whispered back. Pulling back, Shizuru stared down into Natsuki's soft emerald eyes. Natsuki ran her hands up the girl's sides before resting firmly behind the brunette's head. She brought girl's head down to hers bringing their lips together for the first time in months. Shizuru enjoyed every moment of the kiss, her hands stroking up and down the blunette's body. Natsuki broke away to gasp for air as Shizuru hungrily kissed down her exposed neck.

"Ahem?" the room went silent as the two looked over at Shizuru's mother holding a tray with tea.

----------------

"So Natsuki, where did you go?" Shizuru asked before taking a sip from her tea.

"Well I rode around Japan before staying at Kyoto for some time. It's your home town right?" Natsuki smiled looking to the brunette sitting next to her wrapped with a blanket around her legs.

"Ara, Natsuki is correct. So what did you do there?"

"I took up a job as a mechanic at a downtown bike shop, I stayed at an apartment I rented out and had been living there temporary before riding back down here and yeah" Natsuki took the cup warming her cold hands before taking a sip.

"May I ask what Natsuki was doing riding around Japan?" Natsuki paused placing the cup down on the table.

"I needed to get away from life, just some time to think out my life" Shizuru nodded her head assuredly keeping her eye contact on Natsuki. "The carnival, our relationship it was really getting to me so I just wanted to get away" lowering her head, her eyes stared deeply at her hands. "But for the past few months have showed me something. I wish I had seen it sooner, but now I'm certain I know what I want in life" Natsuki reached down to her side only to notice she wasn't wearing her biker uniform.

"It's over there drying" Shizuru pointed out to Natsuki who walked over to the small little clothes rack and reached into her biker's uniform. Grasping the object in her hand, she walked slowly towards Shizuru before stopping before the girl.

"Shizuru what I want most in life…" Natsuki looked her eyes with Shizuru's own before kneeling down to the brunette's level. "Shizuru, I want you by my side, for better or worst or death do us part. I know I can't amend the pain I have given you but I can give you the happiness you deserve. So I ask Shizuru…" pulling her hand away from her sides, she opened her palm revealing two small rings which made Shizuru gasp at instant. "Shizuru, will you marry me?"

Shizuru brought her hands up to her face covering her wide opened open. The look of shock was in her eyes as she slowly regained control of herself. Natsuki kneeled there, sweat running down her back eagerly waiting for a reply from the brunette. Just as she was about to lose all hope she heard her voice.

"I will" Natsuki's eyes lit up like light bulbs at seeing Shizuru's warm smile. Getting up from her position, she sat beside the brunette before resting her hand on Shizuru's own. Bringing it up, she placed a place one ring through Shizuru's finger. Shizuru stared down at the amethyst gem that rested on her ring, before given the other ring. Placing the other ring through Natsuki's finger, she looked down at emerald gem that glowed in the light. Bringing their hands together, Natsuki slowly leaned her head in closing the gap between the two.

Feeling the warm breathe touch her lips, she stared lovingly into her fiancée's eyes. "Shizuru" looking at the blunette with a strange look she was met by a warm smile. "Happy birthday"

_My birthday…? I must have forgotten it, I'm glad she still remembers it though…_

"Thank you"

"I love you Shizuru" her gentle husky voice blew across Shizuru's eyes bringing a warm loving smile to her lips.

"I love you too Natsuki" leaning in, she captured the girl's lips in a soft warm moist kiss. Closing her eyes, she deepened the kiss between the two bringing the girl's body close to hers.

_One year you left me, one year I had lived alone. Holding you in my arms after for so long, I forget the pain and tears that have been shed. __What you gave me Natsuki, is the best gift I could ever want. To be by your side, to hold you close by and to love you with all my heart, I couldn't ask for anything better. _

_You kept your promise, now you will keep my heart… _

**End**

**Author: I hope enjoyed this fic, I'm not sure when this get's posted since of time zones but either way it's dedicated to Shizuru. Thanks for reading and remember to read and review, I hope you liked it!**


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